Salesforce Developer Quick Tip: How to Run Anonymous Apex in Visual Studio Code

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As an Apex developer, you often need to quickly test a class or verify logic without going through the full process of writing a formal test class (especially if you aren’t strictly following Test-Driven Development).

In the Developer Console, this is easy—you just open the “Execute Anonymous” window. But if you are working in Visual Studio Code (VS Code), the process is slightly different.

In this Salesforce Quick Tip, we’ll figure out exactly how to set up and execute Anonymous Apex scripts directly within your IDE.

Step 1: Locate the Scripts Folder

In your VS Code project structure (File Explorer), scroll down to the bottom of the list. You should see a default folder named scripts. Inside that, there is usually a subfolder named apex.

Step 2: Create Your Script File

1. Right-click on the apex folder.
2. Create a new file.
3. Name it whatever you like (e.g., funScript.apex), but ensure it ends with the .apex extension.

Step 3: Write Your Code

Open your new .apex file and write the code you want to test. For example, if you have a class named SuperFunClass with a method funThingsShouldHappen(), you would instantiate it just like standard Apex:

Apex

SuperFunClass demo = new SuperFunClass();
demo.funThingsShouldHappen();

Step 4: Execute the Script

There are two easy ways to run this code:

1. The “Execute” Button: In the .apex file editor, you will see a small “Execute” text button (usually known as Code Lens) appearing above your code. simply click it.
2. Command Palette: Press Ctrl + Shift + P (or Cmd + Shift + P on Mac) and search for the command:SFDX: Execute Anonymous Apex with Editor Contents

The Result

Once executed, the output terminal will open automatically. You can scan the logs for your System.debug statements to verify your code is working exactly as expected.

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Salesforce Development Books I Recommend

Advanced Apex Programming
Salesforce Lightning Platform Enterprise Architecture
Mastering Salesforce DevOps

Good Non-SF Specific Development Books:

Clean Code
Clean Architecture

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AI DISCLAIMER: Gemini assisted me in writing this blog post by analyzing and summarizing the contents on the YouTube video I created that is linked at the top of this post.